Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Guess what I discovered today? There is such thing as a yarn of the month club. Not just one, but a lot. Different manufacturers have their own yarn of the month clubs. There is one official "Yarn of the month" club and they send out samples of different varieties. That particular one is pretty cheap, especially compared to other "of the month" clubs that I have purchased for others such as beer, cheese, chocolate, etc.

Anyway, with a bit of the profits from my new direct sales endeavor, I decided to join a yarn of the month club. I decided to go with one from www.threeirishgirls.com. I picked it because I do get to pick from a couple color options, it is a different fiber type every month and if I wanted to order more of the color to make a bigger project, I can at a discounted price. So anyway, that was my decision. I had to jump on it because they sell out. Can you believe it? Some people are very loyal to their yarn of the month club, I discovered, so you kind of have to wait for people to drop out to get a spot.

I am hoping to try some new projects. I have been in a rut with blankets and hats. I need to branch out. I am looking forward to something being picked for me and I just have to figure out what to do with it. It is a challenge. I am intrigued. Maybe yarn of the month club subscriptions will be my new go to gift request!

I got invited to drop in and knit over the next couple weeks at a friends house. I am hoping to finish this blanket that is my nemesis and get my first delivery of yarn so I can make something for Ava for Christmas. So stay tuned. I will share my new yarns and projects for those who are interested.

Monday, November 19, 2012

It has happened! After a year without it, we have cable again. We have had an antenna in our bedroom, which allows us to have some major networks but that is about it for live tv. We have had subscriptions to hulu and netflix too. Recently I have been less and less happy with them. So on the main tv downstairs we just could watch things streaming on the roku and upstairs stuff on the antenna. Now we have basic cable downstairs. It is still way less than we used to have. No dvr, much fewer channels, only one tv with it. So now I think we will be canceling netflix and hulu. We are saving money by having cable. What are the chances of that??? Ava is happy. She regularly would tell me that she wasn't happy that we had canceled tv. She is very happy that she can watch all of her disney shows on demand. The funny thing is, they didn't watch a single thing that was live.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Do you ever imagine a different version of your current life? Like if you reorganized your schedule and priorities and replaced your personality and drive with something else? I do this often. I plan out my days with some ideal version of myself, that I would probably hate if I met on the street. It would never work out if I tried to implement these changes. I would lose focus just about the time the alarm clock went off.

Here is my pretend life.

Wake up at some unpleasant time in the morning, long before my kids get up. Put my slim and toned self into cute, matching work out clothes and go out for a fast paced, easy run. Come back and start some amazing breakfast, hop in the shower and use amazing smelling products. Get dressed, putting on very expensive jeans that fit perfectly that I happened to get on a great sale so I get a sense of triumph while wearing them. I will have good hair and nice make up on and a cute shirt on that isn't too much like a t-shirt but just casual enough that I don't feel bad wasting it just ithe house. I floss my teeth.

I come downstairs to my immaculate livingroom and finish up the breakfast prep, setting the table on place mats that don't have a spot of food on them. I walk easily into my kids room to wake them up, not worrying about stepping on a random car or Barbie shoe. They get dressed and ready without any fighting or arguing. We all have a delicous breakfast together. I have already put most of the dishes in the dishwasher so it is a fast clean up. I pack Ava's lunch of all healthy, fresh foods and we are out the door with time to spare.

I come home from drop off and spend the day not trying to undo messes, but really just doing deep cleaning tasks. When I do laundry it is all folded and put away that same day. I don't have bags for Goodwill laying around my house because I never put off bringing them downstairs and actually dropping them off. I play with Rhys and take him to some class at the park district.We have a delicious healthy lunch and I once again clean up the kitchen. Rhys takes a nice quiet time, I spend it doing a Bible Study and beginning dinner prep.
I make a delicious dinner and dessert. I am always trying new recipes and we never are missing just the one key ingredient. Ava has a nice healthy snack to come home to....

Ok. Fantasy is over. I just got tired making that list. Here is my reality. I woke up and checked my email on my phone. I got Ava up and argued with her to get out of bed for 10 minutes. Rhys had his coat and shoes on before Ava got int he shower. We had cereal for breakfast in the last three clean bowls in the house. Ava ate in her underwear because I forgot to put all of her uniforms in the dryer last night. Ava couldn't find her shoes and kept messing with other things when she was supposed to be putting them on. Rhys took off his coat while Ava was getting her shoes on and refused to put it back on. We walked out the door with Rhys crying and me wearing pajamas and boots. Ava got to school 2 minutes before it started. I came home and did a load of laundry and dishes. I then lost motivation and decided to browse recipes because that is productive, right? Then I wrote this post.